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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of the Partnership’s financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities that exist at the date of the Partnership’s financial statements, as well as the reported amounts of revenue and costs and expenses during the reporting periods. The Partnership’s financial statements are based on a number of significant estimates, including revenue and expense accruals, depletion, depreciation and amortization, asset impairments, fair value of derivative instruments, and the probability of forecasted transactions. The oil and gas industry principally conducts its business by processing actual transactions as many as 60 days after the month of delivery. Consequently, the most recent two months’ financial results were recorded using estimated volumes and contract market prices (see “Revenue Recognition”). Actual results could differ from those estimates.  

Receivables

Accounts receivable trade-affiliate on the balance sheets consist solely of the trade accounts receivable associated with the Partnership’s operations. In evaluating the realizability of its accounts receivable, the MGP performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers and adjusts credit limits based upon payment history and the customer’s current creditworthiness, as determined by management’s review of the credit information. The Partnership extends credit on sales on an unsecured basis to many of their customers. At December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Partnership had recorded no allowance for uncollectible accounts receivable on its balance sheets.

 

 

Asset retirement receivable – affiliate on the balance sheets consist solely of the net amount withheld from distributions for the purpose of establishing a fund to cover the estimated costs of plugging and abandoning the Partnership’s wells less any amounts used for the plugging and abandonment of the Partnership’s wells. As amounts are withheld, they are paid to the MGP and held until the Partnership wells are plugged and abandoned, at which time, the funds are used to cover the actual expenditures incurred.  The total amount withheld from distributions will not exceed the MGP’s estimate of the costs to plug and abandon the Partnership’s wells.

 

The following is a reconciliation of the Partnership’s asset retirement receivable – affiliate for the years indicated:

 

 

December 31,

 

 

2015

 

 

2014

 

Asset retirement receivable – affiliate, beginning of year

$

19,900

 

 

$

-

 

Asset retirement estimates withheld

 

204,000

 

 

 

19,900

 

Plugging and abandonment costs incurred

 

-

 

 

 

-

 

Asset retirement receivable –affiliate, end of year

$

223,900

 

 

$

19,900

 

 

Gas and Oil Properties

Gas and oil properties are stated at cost. Maintenance and repairs that generally do not extend the useful life of an asset for two years or more through the replacement of critical components are expensed as incurred. Major renewals and improvements that generally extend the useful life of an asset for two years or more through the replacement of critical components are capitalized.


The Partnership follows the successful efforts method of accounting for gas and oil producing activities. Oil and natural gas liquids are converted to gas equivalent basis (“Mcfe”) at the rate of one barrel of oil to six mcf of natural gas.

The Partnership’s depletion expense is determined on a field-by-field basis using the units-of-production method. Depletion rates for lease, well and related equipment costs are based on proved developed reserves associated with each field. Depletion rates are determined based on reserve quantity estimates and the capitalized cost of developed producing properties.

Upon the sale or retirement of a complete field of a proved property, the Partnership eliminates the cost from the property accounts and the resultant gain or loss is reclassified to the Partnership’s statements of operations. Upon the sale or retirement of an individual well, the Partnership reclassifies the costs associated with the well and credits the proceeds to accumulated depletion and impairment within its balance sheets.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Partnership reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. If it is determined that an asset’s estimated future cash flows will not be sufficient to recover its carrying amount, an impairment charge will be recorded to reduce the carrying amount of that asset to its estimated fair value if such carrying amount exceeds the fair value (see Note 4).

The review of the Partnership’s gas and oil properties is done on a field-by-field basis by determining if the historical cost of proved properties less the applicable accumulated depletion and impairment is less than the estimated expected undiscounted future cash flows including salvage. The expected future cash flows are estimated based on the Partnership’s plans to continue to produce and develop proved reserves. Expected future cash flow from the sale of the production of reserves is calculated based on estimated future prices. The Partnership estimates prices based upon current contracts in place, adjusted for basis differentials and market related information, including published futures prices. The estimated future level of production is based on assumptions surrounding future prices and costs, field decline rates, market demand and supply and the economic and regulatory climates. If the carrying value exceeds the expected future cash flows, an impairment loss is recognized for the difference between the estimated fair market value and the carrying value of the assets.

The determination of oil and natural gas reserve estimates is a subjective process, and the accuracy of any reserve estimate depends on the quality of available data and the application of engineering and geological interpretation and judgment. Estimates of economically recoverable reserves and future net cash flows depend on a number of variable factors and assumptions that are difficult to predict and may vary considerably from actual results.

In addition, reserve estimates for wells with limited or no production history are less reliable than those based on actual production. Estimated reserves are often subject to future revisions, which could be substantial, based on the availability of additional information which could cause the assumptions to be modified. The Partnership cannot predict what reserve revisions may be required in future periods.

 

Derivative Instruments

The Partnership’s MGP enters into certain financial contracts to manage the Partnership’s exposure to movement in commodity prices (See Note 6). The derivative instruments recorded on the balance sheets were measured as either an asset or liability at fair value. Changes in a derivative instrument’s fair value are recognized currently in the Partnership’s statements of operations unless specific hedge accounting criteria are met. On January 1, 2015, the Partnership discontinued hedge accounting through de-designation for all of its existing commodity derivatives which were qualified as hedges. As such, subsequent changes in fair value after December 31, 2014 of these derivatives are recognized immediately within gain (loss) on mark-to-market derivatives in the Partnership’s statements of operations, while the fair values of the instruments recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income as of December 31, 2014 will be reclassified to the statements of operations in the periods in which those respective derivative contracts settle. Prior to discontinuance of hedge accounting, the fair value of these commodity derivative instruments was recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) within partners’ (deficit) capital on the Partnership’s balance sheets and reclassified to the Partnership’s statements of operations at the time the originally hedged physical transactions affected earnings.


Asset Retirement Obligations

The Partnership recognizes an estimated liability for the plugging and abandonment of its gas and oil wells and related facilities (See Note 5). The Partnership recognizes a liability for its future asset retirement obligations in the current period if a reasonable estimate of the fair value of that liability can be made. The associated asset retirement costs are capitalized as part of the carrying amount of the long-lived asset. The Partnership also considers the estimates salvage value in the calculation of depletion.

Income Taxes

The Partnership is not subject to U.S. federal and most state income taxes. The partners of the Partnership are liable for income tax in regard to their distributive share of the Partnership’s taxable income. Such taxable income may vary substantially from net income reported in the financial statements. The federal and state income taxes related to the Partnership were immaterial to the financial statements and are recorded in pre-tax income on a current basis only. Accordingly, no federal or state deferred income tax has been provided for in the financial statements.

The Partnership evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Partnership’s tax returns and disallows the recognition of tax positions not deemed to meet a “more-likely-than-not” threshold of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. The Partnership’s management does not believe it has any tax positions taken within its financial statements that would not meet this threshold. The Partnership’s policy is to reflect interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions, when and if they become applicable. However, the Partnership has not recognized any potential interest or penalties in its financial statements as of December 31, 2015 and 2014.

The Partnership files Partnership Returns of Income in the U.S. and various state jurisdictions. With few exceptions, the Partnership is no longer subject to income tax examinations by major tax authorities for years prior to 2011. The Partnership is not currently being examined by any jurisdiction and is not aware of any potential examinations as of December 31, 2015.

Environmental Matters

The Partnership is subject to various federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to the protection of the environment. Management has established procedures for the ongoing evaluation of the Partnership’s operations, to identify potential environmental exposures and to comply with regulatory policies and procedures. Environmental expenditures that relate to current operations are expensed or capitalized as appropriate. Expenditures that relate to an existing condition caused by past operations and do not contribute to current or future revenue generation are expensed. Liabilities are recorded when environmental assessments and/or clean-ups are probable, and the costs can be reasonably estimated. The Partnership maintains insurance which may cover in whole or in part certain environmental expenditures. The Partnership had no environmental matters requiring specific disclosure or requiring the recognition of a liability for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The Partnership sells natural gas and crude oil under contracts to various purchasers in the normal course of business. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Partnership had three customers that individually accounted for approximately 26%, 20%, and 12% of the Partnership’s natural gas and oil combined revenues, excluding the impact of all financial derivative activity. For the year ended December 31, 2014, the Partnership had four customers that individually accounted for approximately 33%, 19%, 17%, and 15%, respectively, of the Partnership’s natural gas and oil combined revenues, excluding the impact of all financial derivative activity.

 

Revenue Recognition

The Partnership generally sells natural gas and crude oil at prevailing market prices. Generally, the Partnership’s sales contracts are based on pricing provisions that are tied to a market index, with certain fixed adjustments based on proximity to gathering and transmission lines and the quality of its natural gas. Generally, the market index is fixed two business days prior to the commencement of the production month. Revenue and the related accounts receivable are recognized when produced quantities are delivered to a custody transfer point, persuasive evidence of a sales arrangement exists, the rights and responsibility of ownership pass to the purchaser upon delivery, collection of revenue from the sale is reasonably assured and the sales price is fixed or determinable. Revenues from the production of natural gas and crude oil in which the Partnership has an interest with other producers, are recognized on the basis of its percentage ownership of the working interest and/or overriding royalty.

 


The MGP and its affiliates perform all administrative and management functions for the Partnership, including billing revenues and paying expenses. Accounts receivable trade-affiliate on the Partnership’s balance sheets includes the net production revenues due from the MGP. The Partnership accrues unbilled revenue due to timing differences between the delivery of natural gas and crude oil and condensate, and the receipt of a delivery statement. These revenues are recorded based upon volumetric data from the Partnership’s records and management estimates of the related commodity sales and transportation and compression fees which are, in turn, based upon applicable product prices (See “-Use of Estimates”). The Partnership had unbilled revenues at December 31, 2015 and 2014 of $37,400 and $104,500, respectively, which were included in accounts receivable trade-affiliate within the Partnership’s balance sheets.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) includes net income (loss) and all other changes in the equity of a business during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources that, under U.S. GAAP, have not been recognized in the calculation of net income (loss). These changes, other than net income (loss), are referred to as “other comprehensive income (loss)” on the Partnership’s financial statements and, at December 31, 2015, only include changes in the fair value of unsettled derivative contracts which, prior to January 1, 2015, were accounted for as cash flow hedges (See Note 6). The Partnership does not have any other type of transaction which would be included within other comprehensive income (loss).

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In August 2014, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to the evaluation of whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The updated accounting guidance requires an entity’s management to evaluate whether there are conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date the financial statements are issued and provide footnote disclosures, if necessary. The updated guidance is effective as of January 1, 2017 and the Partnership is currently in the process of determining the impact of providing the enhanced disclosures, as applicable, within its financial statements. 

In May 2014, the FASB updated the accounting guidance related to revenue recognition. The updated accounting guidance provides a single, contract-based revenue recognition model to help improve financial reporting by providing clearer guidance on when an entity should recognize revenue, and by reducing the number of standards to which an entity has to refer. In July 2015, the FASB voted to defer the effective date by one year to December 15, 2017 for annual reporting periods beginning after that date. The updated accounting guidance provides companies with alternative methods of adoption. The Partnership is currently in the process of determining the impact that the updated accounting guidance will have on its financial statements and its method of adoption.